Firefighters beat structure fire in Breckenridge

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Firefighters extinguished a small structure fire that ignited in a slope-side condominium in Breckenridge this morning after neighbors spotted smoke coming from the unit.

The building had to be evacuated, but there were no injuries.

The fire was caused by towels left against an electric wall heater in the bathroom of the unit.

"This fire was preventable," Red, White and Blue Fire-Rescue deputy chief Jay Nelson stated in a release. "People must be cautious when using electric heaters and make sure that all combustibles such as towels, curtains, beds and chairs are kept a minimum of 3 feet away."

The condo sustained approximately $2,000 in damage, primarily caused by smoke, but firefighters were able to contain the blaze to a single unit.

Smoke was reported at the Ski Hill Condos Colombia Building at 8:30 a.m. Teams responded to find light smoke in the hallway. Twenty firefighters, 16 from Red, White and Blue and four from neighboring Lake Dillon Fire Rescue responded to the call Tuesday morning and extinguished the flames in approximately 10 minutes.

The unit did not have sprinklers, but the fire did set off the smoke detector.

"If this fire had occurred while the unit was occupied, the smoke detectors would have saved the occupants' lives," Nelson stated.

Officials are calling the fire accidental and no charges will be filed.

It was the third fire Red, White and Blue teams have responded to in the last week. The first two were small electrical fires. At least one was related to recent cold temperatures.